Subscribe to this blog

Follow by Email

Search This Blog

I hunt thrift shops for bargains for furniture and turn my projects into unique one-of-a-kind hand painted decor pieces. Furniture can be repaired and restored, or it can be given a whole new look with paint! I share my projects with you to enjoy, and also provide tutorials, including professional tips and tricks, so you can DIY your own projects.

It's Not All Unicorns and Rainbows

Most days I love what I do. Of course there are some tasks that I enjoy more than others, but that's to be expected with any job. But my all time least favorite is stripping paint off furniture. And holy moly taking the paint off the table I just bought is a tough job for sure. And messy. And, at least from my perspective today, never ending.

It looks so sweet from a distance. Don't. Let. It. Fool. You.

One of the joys of using chalk paint is typically skipping the step of stripping furniture. However, the paint on this table is chipping and peeling, so removing it first is essential to a quality finish. I tried sanding the paint off with an orbital sander, but the paint was thick and stubborn and I didn't want to damage the wood. My next step was to try a chemical stripper.

Round 1 of paint stripper.

The table won the first round of stripping off the paint from the top. I won the second round. But I'm stuck now at the spindled legs. Six spindles! Actually seven when you count the cross support piece. What was I thinking? I have no idea. But I know what I'm thinking now though . . . let's find something -- no anything -- to do rather than strip paint. Spring cleaning? Heck yeah!

Round 2 of paint stripper.

So as I take a break from cleaning the house, I am back to pondering the best way to tackle removing the paint from the spindles. Sanding is always the easiest, but that won't work using a sander on the spindles. I might try sanding by hand, but that will take forever, so that might be my last resort. I'm debating between using a chemical stripper or a heat gun and scraper. If anyone has any insights to this dilemma, please feel free to share your thoughts.

While I was procrastinating giving deep thought to the paint removal problem yesterday I finished up a few small projects. I didn't take photos of all of them, but here is a step stool and garden frog that I finished and took to the booth last night.

Before: step stool by the Bombay Company

After.

Pink base with white steps.

The step stool is sturdy even on the top step.

Garden frog. He actually is so sweet, but he looks a little grumpy in this photo. Kinda like how I feel today, ha ha.

On a happy note, I picked up a couple of items that I won at an auction today. My favorite is a fabulous dresser -- I'll keep you posted.

Welcome

Click on SUBSCRIBE at the top right of the page to receive updates about new blog posts delivered directly to your email. I would love to hear from you, so please leave a comment if you have any questions, feedback, or if you just want to say "hello". You'll need a (free) Google+ account to leave a comment on this blog, or you can connect with me on my facebook page at The Black Sheep Shoppe.